Scottie Scheffler arrested by police before Round 2 of PGA Championship
Scottie Scheffler, the world’s top-ranked golfer, was handcuffed and arrested by Louisville police Friday morning for a traffic-related incident as he was attempting to enter Valhalla Golf Club for the second round of the PGA Championship.
After a whirlwind morning that saw Scheffler booked in jail, issued an orange jumpsuit and charged with second-degree felony assault of a police officer, he was released on his own recognizance and returned to the course in time to continue play. He hit balls for about 20 minutes on the practice range before moving to the 10th tee box, where he pulled a driver from his bag to resume his pursuit of a second straight major championship.
When his name was announced on that tee box, the gallery responded with raucous cheers. Scheffler hit his drive into the rough right of the fairway, formally embarking on one of the most unique rounds the sport has seen in a major championship.
Tournament officials delayed the start of Friday’s round by an 1 hour, 20 minutes, as Scheffler’s playing status was initially unclear. He was booked in jail at 7:28 a.m. Eastern time, and at 9:12 a.m., ESPN cameras showed Scheffler at Valhalla, emerging from a black SUV and walking into the club without addressing the arrest. He later issued a statement calling the incident “a big misunderstanding.”
Traffic entering the golf club Friday morning was backed up because of an overnight fatal traffic accident involving a worker for a tournament vendor. Scheffler attempted to navigate around traffic and bypass a heavy police presence to reach the course, according to an ESPN report. ESPN aired video of Scheffler wearing handcuffs and being escorted by two officers to a police cruiser.
“Right now he’s going to jail,” an officer told ESPN reporter Jeff Darlington on the scene.
Shortly before his round began, Scheffler issued a statement saying he had been proceeding toward the course Friday morning “as directed by police officers.”
“It was a very chaotic situation, understandably so considering the tragic accident that had occurred earlier, and there was a big misunderstanding of what I thought I was being asked to do,” he said. “I never intended to disregard any of the instructions. I’m hopeful to put this to the side and focus on golf today.”
Scheffler’s original tee time was 8:48 a.m. Eastern time and was pushed back to 10:08 a.m. Eastern time. The second round of the PGA Championship, one of the sport’s four major tournaments, began at 8:35 a.m. Eastern time. Barely 30 minutes before his round, Scheffler arrived on the Valhalla driving range to a smattering of cheers.
A local attorney representing Scheffler, Steve Romines, spoke briefly with reporters Friday morning in Louisville and said there had been a “miscommunication” that led to Scheffler’s arrest. He said police had changed traffic patterns heading into the club, and that Scheffler “was unaware of that.”
Romines said Scheffler did not disobey police and “did exactly what he was instructed to do to enter the premises.”
“We’ll just litigate the case as it comes,” he said. “Scottie will cooperate fully and we’ll just deal with it as it progresses.”
According to the Louisville Metro Department of Corrections, Scheffler was booked at 8:28 a.m. Eastern time and assigned inmate No. 00654436. In addition to the charge for assaulting an officer, Scheffler also faces charges of criminal mischief, reckless driving and disregarding traffic signals from an officer, according to Louisville police. A mug shot posted online Friday morning depicted an unsmiling Scheffler wearing a jail-issued orange jumpsuit. His agent did not respond to a request for comment.
The incident started with a traffic accident around 5 a.m. In a statement, police said they responded to a call of a vehicle collision involving a pedestrian and a bus.
“Our preliminary investigation found that an adult male pedestrian was crossing Shelbyville Road south to north when he was struck by a shuttle bus that was traveling eastbound in the compulsory center lane dedicated for buses,” the statement said.
The pedestrian was pronounced dead at the scene.
In his morning statement, Scheffler said that “all of us involved in the tournament express our deepest sympathies to the family of the man who passed away in the earlier accident this morning. It truly puts everything in perspective.”
In a statement, the PGA of America said, “This morning we were devastated to learn that a worker with one of our vendors was tragically struck and killed by a shuttle bus outside Valhalla Golf Club. This is heartbreaking to all of us involved with the PGA Championship. We extend our sincere condolences to their family and loved ones.”
The accident caused a backup entering the course. Darlington reported that Scheffler drove past a police officer who had asked the golfer to stop. An officer attached himself to the side of Scheffler’s car, according to ESPN’s report. After the car stopped, an officer banged a flashlight on the car, Darlington reported, before pulling Scheffler out of the vehicle, putting him against the vehicle and placed him in handcuffs.
Police apparently did not know whom they had detained. ESPN’s Darlington said officers later approached him, notepad in hand, asking for the name of the man they’d detained.
Scheffler’s arrest was not related to the fatal traffic accident, and his playing status was not immediately clear.
Barely an hour after he was booked, Scheffler was released from jail at 8:40 a.m., just as tournament play was beginning at Valhalla. He shed the jail garb and arrived at the course less than an hour before he was expected on the 10th tee box for the start of his round. He began play in a light rain, again sporting the clothes he’d been wearing when police arrested him.
Scheffler won the most recent major, the Masters, in April. That was part of a run in which he won four out of five tournaments he entered, tying for second in the only event he didn’t win.
He entered the PGA Championship as the betting favorite, and he opened the tournament with a 4-under 67, leaving him tied for 12th and five shots behind first-round leader Xander Schauffele.